Home Infrared Saunas – Safe and Energy Efficient

Home infrared saunas are said to have the ability to penetrate the skin more deeply than a traditional sauna thereby giving the body a better detox of impurities.

Some doctors say bupkiss to that claim but these units, also known as far infrared saunas, are appealing in traditional ways such as helping to boost your immune system, soothe aching joints, and a host of other health benefits.

Traditional hot rocks saunas were developed in Finland centuries ago, while home infrared saunas are relatively new, being invented in Japan in 1965.

The far infrared ray is a form of electromagnetic light energy that heats the body but not the surrounding air. When a longer wavelength of light warms an object without warming the air between the source and the object it is called radiant heat, or more correctly, Far Infrared Radiation (FIR).

Infrared vs. Conventional Saunas

Far infrared is used in hospitals to warm preemies in incubators! It will also not cause tanning, or skin cancer, and people who feel that traditional saunas are too hot for them will enjoy these saunas.

Infrared home saunas are designed to heat the body and not the air, they operate at lower temperatures than conventional saunas, in the 100°F to 130°F range versus 180°F to 220°F for hot rocks saunas.

Because of this difference, the far infrared sauna offers these key advantages:

Older models of home infrared saunas used metallic, rod-shaped heating elements. The newer designs are greatly improved and come with concave, ceramic emitters.

To understand the difference between the two, think of the rod-shaped elements as what you see in your oven.They offer a heating efficiency ratio of about 50%.

Compare that to the wider, flat panel ceramic design which gives off as much as 95% of energy output as far infrared waves. The rod-shaped heater is producing more heat and less infrared, and that’s not what you want.

While heated air in a traditional sauna can be hard on the lungs and skin, these home infrared saunas and their far infrared electromagnetic waves are not only completely safe but provide greater health advantages with fewer side-effects.